Improvement in water-wheels



d UNITE-DSTATES "PATENT OFF-reni Groen n; .1oN'ES ,UF'RosE-, NEw YORK.

,yIMPRQVEMENi-{lnfWATER-WHEELS;

j sptiaatitnfrmipg paftpf nearsratent No. 105,694, dated Juiy 2t, 1h10. Y

Improvement in Water-Wheels, of which theV following'is a full,`clear, and.,V exact description, reference being had to th'e accompany 111g drawing, forming part of 'this specifica` tion, and in whichi f Figure 1 represents a horizontal section, of a turbine wheel constructed. in accordance with my improvement, and Fig. 2 a vertical sectional view of the same.` Fig. 3 isan upper or end View of the wheel proper removed from'its case, and Fig. 4 a vertical section of the saine.

Fig. 5 is a section of the wheel in part, taken as denoted by the line x x in Figs. 2 and 4.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

My invention consists in a novel construction of the buckets and intermediate portions of the wheel proper, for operation within a case or chamber, preferably of scroll form, and whereby a most efcient, action and economical application of the water are obtained. The invention also includes a novel construction of the gate, together, with its stem and surface against which the gate works, whereby the operation of the gate is protected against interference by frost, grit or sediment.

Referring t0 the accompanying drawing, A represents th"e gate, which is hollowed out or of D form on its face,.and the upper portion of the surface against whichit works recessed, as at a, to secure any sand which may have `lodged on the upper edge of the gate passing, when the gate is hoisted, into the wheel, and

to prevent marring of the face of the gate. The stem B, by which the gate is raised, is connected with the latter, so as to be capable `of turning therein, but restricted as regards longitudinal movement, except in common with 4the gate, as shown at b; also made capable of turning in the gland or stung-box c, through which it plays. This mode of attaching the stem facilitates the working of the gate in time of frost, by rst turning the stem when choked by ice, which eases the starting of the stem to effect the movement of the gate. The case or chamber C, in which the wheel works,

` iis of a scrollnform, and preferably spiral conl liguration, increasing one-twelfth of theradius in each successive 'radial division of `itinto eight equal parts from the center of the wheel.

This construction of the scrollI find the most effective in making availableJ thev centrifugal force of the water, and varyingvelocity and pressure of it invits passage roundthe scroll.

l The wheel proper, D, which is suitablycar-' ried by a vertical '"shaftE, is here shownl double-that is, with an uppery and;lower row of buckets; but it may, if desired, be made single, and the descriptionA here will be confined to a single or upper row only, the lower row and its intermediate parts, as shown in the drawing, being similar in construction, only reversely tapering to secure a like action and counterbalancing force or pressure on the wheel in direction of its axis. Said wheel may have any desired number of buckets in a row, the'water entering at the periphery, and being discharged within and over the end of the wheel. The case in which the wheel works need not necessarily be of the spiral or scroll form herein described, as any suitable case applicable to turbine wheels generally may be used; but it is preferred to construct the case as described. The buckets F F are not only inclined, but also, as it may be termed, double-curved. Thusthe bottom to the upper wheel or division between the two rows of buckets (indicated by the letter d) is brought to an edge at the skirt ofthe wheel, and made to curve upward, as at e, in its approach to the shaft by an easy curve of thirty-five degrees, or thereabout, to the horizon; also, the curved buckets, as at f, made to lie at an inclination of about fortydegrees, more or less. These inclinations serve to deflect the water upward. Said buckets are of an enlarging capacity in an upward direction to secure proper run of thewater from the scroll through them, and are of a hollow shell-like form, opening at their discharge mouths or ends g within the body of the wheel, and above its end through its body, and discharging inward and i upward, revolves at its ends h closely within the case or chamber G, and, by the detour given to the water through its buckets, makes available the whole or greater power of the water. But it here should be noted, as an additional or distinctive feature in my improved direct and reacting turbine Water-wheel, having curved buckets and taking its water from the outside and discharging it either in part or in whole in a direction parallel to the axis, that said wheel is provided or constructed in rear of each bucket, within the case-fitting rim portion h of it, with what may be termed a secondary backing, s, lying against said rim, and with its Widest end to the back of the bucket opposite to where the water strikes the latter. The use of these backings is to keep the water that has just entered the wheel, and has not yet acted on the buckets, from mixing with the water that has so acted, and has commeneed to react by discharging through the issues or mouths g, such mixing, if allowed, destroying or impairing the eiiiciency of the water so mingled together, and making it a dead weight on the wheel. Said backings can be applied either to single or double curved buckets. i

4What is here claimed, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

1. The wheel D, with its buckets F scooped out and through the body of the wheel, curved or inclined, as at e and f, and with its buckets of an increasing capacity upward, or in a par allel direction with the shaft of the wheel, and arranged to discharge inwardly and in said direction, as at g, substantially as specified.

2. In a direct and reacting turbine wheel, having curved buckets and receiving and discharging the water, as described, the combinan tion of the secondary backings s with the curved buckets F, and relatively to the casetting portion or rim h, substan tially as shown and described.

3. The combination,with the elements recited in the preceding claim, of the scroll case or chamber C, essentially as described.

4. The combination of the gate A, hollowed out on its face, as described, the surface against which said gate works, recessed, as at c, and the stern B, made capable of revolving, substantially as specified.

GEORGE H. JONES.

Witnesses:

G. F. MERRITT, GEO. W. SHERMAN. 

